|
|
Post by Rosefriend on Jun 1, 2007 10:32:55 GMT
UPDATE 13.06.07 - We have decided to change the name of the June garden thread into Summer in the GWD Garden thus incorporating July and August as well.
Summer is usually a slow and yet welcoming time in the garden, where one can hopefully enjoy the fruits of one's labours.
We will hopefully carry on as usual in September.
RF
JUNE/JULY/AUGUST IN THE GWD GARDEN
Where on earth did May go, hope the somewhat mixed weather didn’t spoil things too much in the garden for you all. Let’s hope we can enjoy the garden a little more this month with some gorgeous gardening weather.
Know what’s in store on the jobs front this month. As usual feel free to add your own jobs and any relevant advice.
Let’s start with 4P
Organic Gardening in June
First the bad news!
Weeds, pests and infiltrators are doing their best to ruin all your hard work in June as the temperature rises and the days lengthen. Keep on top of the weeding and mulch whenever you get a chance. Look out for infestations of sawfly, aphids etc and hand pick off or hose off whenever you find them, ditto with all the other greeblies preparing to decimate your lovely plants. Fungal leaf diseases such as mildew and rust will begin to show, so pick off all infected leaves and bin them - don't compost them. Be careful not to over feed as new soft growth is particularly vulnerable. Water plants at the base and not on the foliage.
Hang up codling moth traps in your apple trees.
Mulch with straw under your strawberries and root runners which will appear this month. Remove those you don't need.
The good news!
June is the month to finally plant out all the babies you've been mollycodling in the cold frames and gh's. Harden off properly!
Plant out all the courgettes, beans etc and continue to sow carrots, spring onions, beetroot, lettuces etc etc. Don't forget to wait until the evenings to thin out carrots, if possible, when the carrot fly isn't active.
Start a regime of softwood cuttings as plants root very quickly at this time of the year.
Also plant all your HH plants out now and sow some late annuals straight in to the ground.
Continue to feed the birds and keep an eye out for their babies. Don't pick up any fledglings you find until you are quite certain they are at risk. Enjoy their antics though!
And as ever, don't forget to linger and enjoy the beautiful garden you have helped create. Don't fret about the weeds - they have their own part to play. June is another green and glowing month - don't miss it!
AND go onto Foz and his darlings
This is the time to just look and admire your Roses. They should have already, or very shortly, started their flowering season. At time of writing I only have one in flower, but with the promise of many more to come. For those with fragrant roses, as Andy says, there is nothing better on a warm evening than a perfumed garden.
In terms of things to do then its just normal garden maintenance. Water when required, particularly those being grown in containers. Treat pests and diseases, all but one of mine have rid themselves of aphids, I must be getting the balance right, they seemed to vanish once the chives flowered. Lightly hoe to aerate and keep areas weed free. Top up mulches, if you use them; avoid lawn cuttings if you have been using a chemical weed suppressant on your lawn area. Keep an eye out for “suckers” and remove them from where they join the rootstock. This may mean scrapping away soil to locate the join. Unless of course you’re growing some of those that I have been talking about that “sucker” naturally and you want them to form a thicket!
For those with Hybrid Tea Roses, you could try, on one or two stems, the practice of disbudding. Many HTs will produce two or three smaller side buds in addition to the main bud at the top. Remove theses as soon as possible using finger and thumb.
It will give you good quality large blooms on long stems that are good for cutting.
If you have black spot and want to treat it then try either of these organic methods. Both will stop the spread of the fungus. So, if you do not have it will inhibit the fungus from growing. A) Dust with sulphur powder. B) Use a Potassium Bicarbonate mixture as a spray (1 tablespoon to a gallon of water). Baking powder (sodium bicarb) will do, but not as effective as Potassium bicarb. I only resort to these in bad years. This year, no real problem, yet! Perhaps it’s not warm enough up here!
And now from Lottie Lady
June on the Lottie!
Last chance now if you haven’t already done so to plant out Tomatoes, Runner Beans, Sweetcorn and if you are trying them, Sweet Potatoes. Don’t forget to spray the flowers of beans lightly with water to ‘set’ them and help to produce the pods.
After all the rain we’ve had again now is a good time to mulch, or top up mulches already in place. If you are using grass cuttings don’t spread it deeper than 2 inches as it will generate too much heat.
Main crop spuds will need earthing up now , and some of you may be harvesting your first earlies YUM! It’s time to sow winter Brassicas too.
Leeks should be ready for transplanting ( don’t forget the longest leek compy!) and late Brussels Sprouts.
Continue to sow salad crops as you harvest your earlier sowings.
Courgettes and squashes should be ready to plant now, make sure you incorporate lots of organic matter with them, they are really greedy feeders and like nothing better than being planted in a manure heap – or even the compost heap if it’s cooked enough.
Fruit
If you can bring your self to trim off runners from Strawberries this will give the plants more energy for the fruit, if not peg them into small pots ready to make new plants.
Pinch out side shoots of trained fruit and tie in the ones you want as they grow.
Thin Apples and Pears so the fruits won’t touch each other as they grow.
Bugs and pests!
Keep your eyes out for the dreaded Cabbage Whites and destroy any clusters of yellow eggs you may find. The Gooseberry Saw Fly caterpillar can also be a problem as can Codling Moth on fruit trees – one pheromone trap can protect up to 5 trees.
Strawberries can be affected by Botrytis (grey mould), remove any infected parts and make sure you have enough air circulation with the straw so the fungus isn’t spread by the rain.
As always weed water weed water weed, but most of all enjoy your time on the lottie!
Contributions from Plocket, mickthecactus and Andy were not available at the time of going to press, but we will include them as soon as they arrive.
RF/OM
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Jun 1, 2007 13:27:08 GMT
Fab, lots of really useful info as usual  Hey 4P we can do without the bad news though ;D Hand pick, is that the same as squish  Foz, I was blown away by the perfume of 2 of my roses this morning as I went past them to the GH, they always make me smile  Lottie, all I'm saying is Leeks and toilet roll holders Look forward to seeing what Plocket, Mick and Andy have in store for us - lots of work in the beds I bet Andy One tip from me is now the weather is warming up, make sure you have saucers under your garden pots, it really does help. If you let them get too dry the water just flushes through, at least if you have a saucer it collects in that rather than drains away. Saying that I've been emptying mine with this recent wet weather  And another little thing I do, keep your watering can full in the GH so it isn't so cold when you use it. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2007 15:26:00 GMT
What a brilliant read! (And useful too)
Just as an aside ... I need to mention a couple of my roses (one of which has been in flower for a few weeks now and still plenty of buds to open) Firstly ... Tess of the D'Urbevilles ... beautiful fragrance - I have a couple of chairs next to it and it's a lovely spot to sit - the rose fragrance having taken over from the lilacs now.
T'other rose is Dioressence ... 2 flowers (one on each plant) got bashed about by the wind the other day, but 3 buds on one of the plants - can't wait for them to open. (only bought them in April so am pleased with those)
Anyway ... thanks for this thread!
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Jun 1, 2007 16:16:03 GMT
Tis good Marble I always enjoy it too There is A Year in the GWD Garden too ;D just click on the link below and it will take you there, happy garden reading. A Year in the GWD Garden |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2007 16:25:55 GMT
Thanks for that, Chuckles
|
|
|
|
Post by lottielady on Jun 1, 2007 17:29:26 GMT
Fab, lots of really useful info as usual Lottie, all I'm saying is Leeks and toilet roll holders No mention of drainpipes then Chuckles  LLx |
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Jun 1, 2007 17:32:46 GMT
There is plenty of time for them to come into play LL ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Jun 17, 2007 23:00:07 GMT
Don't forget to put some canes in to support taller plants in the garden, things soon get bashed down with the rain we have been getting. Also for those plants that lean towards the light if they are partly shaded.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Jul 6, 2007 22:28:34 GMT
One tip from me is now the weather is warming up, make sure you have saucers under your garden pots, it really does help. If you let them get too dry the water just flushes through, at least if you have a saucer it collects in that rather than drains away. OMG that was the 1/6 I posted that and I've now removed all my saucers because at times I was having to empty them more than once a day. Don't want any plants in pots to rot  |
|
And another little thing I do, keep your watering can full in the GH so it isn't so cold when you use it.
